Holland Health and Happiness

This page is to address questions asked by those who have purchased one or more Hollands from us. Information included here will be for the rabbits health, behavior or overall well being. Each individual forever home, is unique. Each individual owner will raise and care for thier rabbit in a style that enhances thier day to day life. So please keep in mind that these answers are from our observation and trials. There are many different ways to do any given task correctly. If the advice here does not work for you, ask others, there is alwaus a solution ! You may even come up with it all on your own!

Keep scrolling down the page for more info........

How do you know carrots are good for your eyes?

You never see a bunny

wearing glasses!

Sorry...Karen made me

say that!

What do I do? My rabbit is lethargic.

Lets begin by thinking like Sherlock Holmes. Observation before and after are important clues as to what is going on with this bun. What was the bun doing the last time you saw him/her? Normal? Playful? Was he/she in the room with the television that has electric cords plugged in to an outlet? Maybe in a room of the house where he/she could get to a high place and take a fall to the floor? In these cases he/she may need to be taken as quickly as possible to a Veterinarian for emergency care.

So we have rulled out household accidents, and malocclusion.

More detective work: Is the litter box filled with the normal amount of droppings and urine output? Are the droppings the normal size and shape fot this rabbit? Any change in amount, shape, size or color can possibly be an intestinal problem. Rabbits can stop eating and drinking for many reasons. Once they do the most important course of action will be to rehydrate.

Next lets take a good look at this buns teeth. Turn him/her over gently with your fingers between buns ears. Push back the upper lip. Do the top teeth go over the Bottom teeth? If so good. If bottom teeth over lap top the bun has malocclusion. Which makes it difficutt to eat.

Step One: Mix water and Bene Bac together. If you are using probiotic for humans that comes in capsules use a whole one to about a a cup of water. If you have powdered Bena Bac, use a teaspoon for a cup of water. Now the work begins. Every hour to hour and a half until you see improvement, (The bun begins drinking on its own, eating on its own and making droppings that are numerous and normal,) you will use a syringe without the needle or an eye dropper to get the water and probiotic into the bun.

Turn the bun gently on his/her back holding firmly with your fingers between ears. Gently administer by giveing small amounts at a time. How much each hour? This depends on the size of the bun. A very young bun has a very small stomach. So think in those terms. Some of the mixture will go down the bans face and not into the bun so keep that in mind also. Generally the bun will get restless when he/she has had enough. Very Important: Try not to get any into the nostrils. To much going ingto the nose can do damage.

Too Keep In Mind: You always have the option of taking the bun to a Vet who will most likely administer subcutaneous fluids.

Another option is to add a product called Critical Care to your water and probiotic mix. Critical Care can be purchased at feed stored, pet stores or online. It is good to have a bag on hand in case you find yourself needing it. Add about a teaspoon to your half cup water.

GI STASIS...GI STASIS...GI STASIS

What about cages? Hmm..................

Cages are actually very personal. Personal to the family and personal to the bunny or bunnies living in them. Are you litter training to the house? Are you going to have a free run barn bunny? Bunnies can live in many places...the family room, the childs room, the garage. Size of cage really has to do with time spent in cage. Every bun needs time to stretch, run and leap each and every day. I have an enclosed dirt pit the buns get to dig in during the summer. They get filthy but satisfying the instinct to dig and the exercise recieved are well worth a little dust!

Personally I like an indoor cage the bun can come and go from. Yet something safe I can close them up in if I go out and about. Then I know the bun is safe and my belongings will be intact when I return.

If the bun will "live" primarily in the cage. (Remember it must have some outside run and play time each day.) Then commonsense tells us the cage needs to be as large as possibe for its location. More levels save space but add a good muscle workout for the bun. Using litter boxes with more hieght to the sides will ensure the bun jumps in and out increasing daily muscle work. Wire cages are fine, they are hardy, easy to clean and usually easy to find. Just put something on the floor, a towel, blanket or wood square to make it more comfortable.

Some people personalities want a fancy wooden hutch, some folks go more economical. If the bun is truly loved, he or she will pretty much like anything you choose!

Exercise

Just about a month ago I read a report written by a group of prominent doctors who have now come to the conclusion that the best medical advice they can give patients is.......this may blow you away now so hold on to your ponies......to excercise daily. That made national news. Okay so now that I have had some fun with our medical folks out there, lets talk bunny excersise.....

Bunnies who get regular daily excersise are bunnies who are loved by their owners. If you lived through the 1980's you might be thinking move the furniture, get on the sweat bands and leg warmers , throw on a good Jane Fonda workout and feel the burn. Thank goodness it is so much simpler for bunnies. All you need is a safe area for the bunny to run about. Best case senario is your bunny is litter box trained to your home or a room in your home. They can move about all through the day. If that is not possible in your home purchasing a pen designed for excersise can also do the job. In the summer take the pens outdoors, (Safety first, don't leave them alone outside unless you have a setup that is cat, dog and fox proof.) Give them at least an hour a day to stretch and leap about. Oh and now our Vets are finding out that rabbits just like humans need some good old fashioned sunshine to get the Vitamin D they require. Always provide shade to protect the bunny from heat stroke. A harness works well for getting sunshine winter and summer. Just put it on and slip outdoors. Both bunny and human will find the fresh air beneficial.

P.S. What about winter? Well when it is above zere you can take your bunny out to play in the snow. Bundle up and don't miss the fun! Just remember that at thirty above the bunny can play for 20 minutes. The colder the day the less amount of time outdoors. Check your bunny's feet and ears when you first go out. If they are feeling allot colder during playtime checks bring bunny indoors. No one wants thier bunny to get frostbite.

Some of our Holland Lops are allowed to play and explore while we are working at the barn. We keep a close eye on them. Some even come when called! Above Jackie is having the time of her life!

Below Lily is having fun, she just likes her fun a little slower.

Remember: Cage size has to do with how much time the bunny spends in it. Bunnies cannot be healthy and grow in personality unless they are allowed time to exercise and just be out and about .

Peppy Le Pew is surrounded by a large metal pen. I put a bucket in the middle. He can jump on the bucket, knock over the bucket, push around the bucket its all up to him.

Abracadabra is on the left. Tops is on the right. They love snow days!

Added bonus: If your bunny likes to dig.....this is a great place to do it!

Harness Training

Training a rabbit to harness is not as difficult as it may sound. It is a matter of getting the right harness and a bit of patience. To the right I have a picture of what we have found to be the best overall rabbit harness. The design is the most comfortable for the rabbit and the easiest for the handler to place the rabbit into. We have never had a bunny get out of one of these. The head section can be stretched out as big as needed and once over the head pulled back in for the proper fit. Then the back section of the figure eight is simply fitted to the bunnies midsection. Add a lead line and off you go!

The harness above is a small cat harness. We get ours by searching eBay sellers, (best prices) but I am sure you can find in pet catalogs or some pet stores. The plastic mid section is hardy and they generally last years and years.

Patience is the key. Once the rabbit is in the harness, be gentle and follow the rabbit where it leads you. It is best to start in an area that is nice and open. You do not want the rabbit to get caught up in chair legs or posts. Most bunnies will enjoy thier time on the line. A few even start to understand that a gentle pull on the line means stop. It is a great way to enhance the relationship you have with your Holland Lop.

Rebekah has Jack Frost out on the line for some excersise at the fairgrounds.

Jack does seem to be having a great time.

A couple warnings: Never put a baby bun under 3 months in a harness. The spine is not developed enough and can cause permant damage. Also when playing with other rabbits in harness keep in mind that all bunnies do not get along and may become aggressive with another bunny. Lastly the lines can get tangled and a bunny can get hurt in the struggle to untangle them. Just use good sense and have fun!

Toys are a bunnies best friend...........

The importance of toys available to your bun is something to take quite seriously! When purchasing play items for your little friend always keep in mind....Safety. Are there little beads or buttons the rabbit could accidentally swallow? Does a basket have varnish or paint the rabbit might ingest causing a bout of G.I. Stasis?

Here at the Rabbitry we like to make most of our own toys. They are simple but the buns really enjoy them. Above to the right, we have used a small dowel rod, placed some large wooden beads (checked out when purchased to have pet safe coloring) and other wooden shapes, along with a thick piece of cotton rope. They are held on with a wooden clothes pin on each end. The bun can pull them off and scatter them all over the cage. You just put them all back together and the bun can repeat the fun!

Inky has a loofah scrubby we hung from the top of the cage. He can swing it, bop it or chew on it. All completely safe and enjoyable. If your bun really really likes the chewing of the loofah, chewing and eating.....then loofah may need to be given in small (under 2 inch) amounts.

Above : Mr. Jack Frost is contemplating whether or not to get the dowel rods swinging again. They are tied together with color safe beads. We used hay twine to wrap and hang them to the cage ceiling.

Checking Under the Chin- Often!

This is a picture of Chrome. He is two years old in this photo. The poor fellow suffers from what I call dribble. When he eats treats the saliva mixed with the treat dribbles down both sides of his chin. Sometimes it even dribbles in the middle between the corners. As you can see it becomes irritated and forms a scab or more than just one scab. This problem is usually ongoing as it is with Chrome. Does with a big fluffy dew lap are also prone to this problem. It is important to check this area often. The area can become infected if not caught early. For Chrome we take a look at least once per week. We apply an ointment such as terramyacin. If symptoms are really bad we have an ointment that contains a steroid to clear it up fast so Chrome does not deal with too much pain. The key here is to make it a priority to give your bun a good lookover often. Prevention is also important. If your bun is a dribble kind of guy or gal wipe off the chin area after moist treats and dry it as thoroughly as possible.

Is this normal! What is it? Why did it happen?